This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Newly designed multivalent lipids ranging in head group charge from 4+ to 16+ have been synthesized and investigated as DNA delivery vectors. These dendritic lipids (DLs) allow a controlled study of the relationship between membrane charge density and transfection efficiency (TE).